Zootaxa 2797: 25–44 (2011) ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2011 · Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Proposal of new specific status for tea-infesting populations of the nominal citrus spiny whitefly Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) KENKICHI KANMIYA1, SHIGENORI UEDA2, ATSUSHI KASAI3, KOJI YAMASHITA4, YASUSHI SATO5 & YUTAKA YOSHIYASU6 1Institute of Comparative Studies of International Cultures and Societies, Kurume University, Mii-machi 1635, Kurume, Fukuoka 839- 0851, Japan. E-mail k_kanmiya @nifty.com 2 National Agricultural Research Center for Kyushu Okinawa Region, Mii-machi 1823-1, Kurume, Fukuoka 839-8503, Japan. E-mail
[email protected] 3 Laboratory of Applied Entomology, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo, Kyoto 606-8522, Japan. E-mail
[email protected] 4 Tea Industry Research Division, Agriculture and Forestry Technology Department, Kyoto Prefectural Agriculture, Forestry and Fish- eries Technology Center, Nakanosono, Shirakawa, Uji, Kyoto 611-0022, Japan. E-mail k-yamashita13 @pref.kyoto.lg.jp 5 National Institute of Vegetable and Tea Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Kanaya, Shimada, Shizuoka 428-8501, Japan. E-mail
[email protected] 6 Laboratory of Applied Entomology, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo, Kyoto 606-8522, Japan. E-mail
[email protected] Abstract The citrus spiny whitefly Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Quaintance) is a pest of citrus plants that is native to South-East Asia. Although serious outbreaks of the tea-infesting whitefly in China, Taiwan and Japan have been attributed to this species over the last 20 years, recent research has shown different host preferences between the two whiteflies.